【文章內(nèi)容簡(jiǎn)介】 wsers and chains to the rim without damaging it. Eventually chains were fixed to one end of the dish and a powerful winch was put into operation. The dish rose to the surface and was gently drawn towards the canal bank. For one agonizing moment, the dish was perched precariously on the bank of the canal, but it suddenly overbalanced and slid back into the water. The men were now obliged to try once more. This time they fixed heavy metal clamps to both sides of the dish so that they could fasten the chains. The dish now had to be lifted vertically because one edge was resting against the side of the canal. The winch was again put into operation and one of the men started up the truck. Several minutes later, the dish was successfully hauled above the surface of the water. Water streamed in torrents over its sides with such force that it set up a huge wave in the canal. There was danger that the wave would rebound off the other side of the bank and send the dish plunging into the water again. By working at tremendous speed, the men managed to get the dish on to dry land before the wave returned. 保險(xiǎn)公司一般說(shuō)來(lái)愿意承保一切東西。承辦公共財(cái)產(chǎn)或私人財(cái)產(chǎn)保險(xiǎn)是世界上大部分國(guó)家的正常業(yè)務(wù)。如果你要舉辦一次露天游園會(huì)或盛宴，為避免碰上不好的天氣而遭受損失也同樣可以保險(xiǎn)，不用說(shuō)，保險(xiǎn)公司承擔(dān)風(fēng)險(xiǎn)越大，你付的保險(xiǎn)費(fèi)也就越高。航運(yùn)公司為打撈沉船而提出索賠，這是常有的事，但某地當(dāng)局為打撈一只焙制餡餅的盤子提出索賠，倒是件新鮮的事兒。 這個(gè)餡餅盤子確實(shí)少見(jiàn)，有18英尺長(zhǎng)，6英尺寬。某地方當(dāng)局買下它用來(lái)焙制一個(gè)巨大的餡餅為一年一度交易會(huì)助興。餡餅委員會(huì)確認(rèn)運(yùn)輸這只盤子的最佳方案是通過(guò)運(yùn)河水運(yùn)。于是，他們對(duì)這只盤子的運(yùn)輸安全投了保。盤子下水后不久，餡餅委員會(huì)成員們來(lái)到當(dāng)?shù)匾患倚【频陸c賀。就在這個(gè)時(shí)候，許多十幾歲的孩子爬盤子舉行他們自己的集會(huì)。他們跳起了舞，盤子難以承受。舞會(huì)進(jìn)行過(guò)程中，盤子傾覆，沉入了7英尺深的水中。 餡餅委員會(huì)給當(dāng)?shù)仄囆蘩韼?kù)老板打電話，他聞?dòng)嵑箝_(kāi)著一輛急修車前來(lái)打撈盤子。那些孩子們穿著濕衣服哆嗦，看著3個(gè)工人輪潛入水中以確定盤子的位置。他們沒(méi)費(fèi)多大事兒就找到了盤子?？墒前驯P子撈出卻是一個(gè)很大的難題。盤子四邊十分光滑，要在盤邊拴上繩索或鏈條而同時(shí)又不損壞它是很難辦到的。不過(guò)，他們終于將鏈條固定在盤子的一端，一臺(tái)大功率的絞車開(kāi)動(dòng)起來(lái)。盤子慢慢浮出水面，被輕輕地拽向運(yùn)河岸邊。在令人忐忑不安的瞬間，盤子晃晃悠悠地上了岸，但它突然失去了平衡，又跌回水中。工人們只得再來(lái)一次。這次，他們用沉重的金屬夾子把盤子夾住，以便往盤子上安裝鐵鏈。這次，盤子必須垂直吊出水面，因?yàn)楸P子的一邊緊靠著運(yùn)河河岸。絞盤機(jī)再次啟動(dòng)，一位工人發(fā)動(dòng)了急修車的引擎。幾分鐘后，盤子被成功地拽出了水面。波浪從盤子兩側(cè)急涌而出，在運(yùn)河里掀起一股大浪。但是當(dāng)波浪從河對(duì)岸折回來(lái)時(shí)，就有再次把盤子拖進(jìn)水里的危險(xiǎn)。工人們動(dòng)作迅速，終于趕在那股大浪返回之前把盤子拽到了岸上。 Lesson44 Speed and fortPeople travelling long distances frequently have to decide whether they would prefer to go by land, sea, or air. Hardly anyone can positively enjoy sitting in a train for more than a few hours. Train partments soon get cramped and stuffy. It is almost impossible to take your mind off the journey. Reading is only a partial solution, for the monotonous rhythm of the wheels clicking on the rails soon lulls you to sleep. During the day, sleep es in snatches. At night, when you really wish to go to sleep, you rarely manage to do so. If you are lucky enough to get a couchette, you spend half the night staring at the small blue light in the ceiling, or fumbling to find your passport when you cross a frontier. Inevitably you arrive at your destination almost exhausted. Long car journeys are even less pleasant, for it is quite impossible even to read. On motorways you can, at least, travel fairly safely at high speeds, but more often than not, the greater part of the journey is spent on narrow, bumpy roads which are crowded with traffic. By parison, trips by sea offer a great variety of civilized forts. You can stretch your legs on the spacious decks, play games, swim, meet interesting people and enjoy good foodalways assuming, of course, that the sea is calm. If it is not, and you are likely to get seasick, no form of transport could be worse. Even if you travel in ideal weather, sea journeys take a long time. Relatively few people are prepared to sacrifice up to a third of their holidays for the pleasure of travelling on a ship. Aeroplanes have the reputation of being dangerous and even hardened travellers are intimidated by them. They also have the grave disadvantage of being the most expensive form of transport. But nothing can match them for speed and fort. Travelling at a height of 30,000 feet, far above the clouds, and at over 500 miles an hour is an exhilarating experience. You do not have to deviseways of taking your mind off the journey, for an aeroplane gets you to your destination rapidly. For a few hours, you settle back in a deep armchair to enjoy the flight. The real escapist can watch a free film show and sip champagne on some services. But even when such refinements are not available, there is plenty to keep you occupied. An aeroplane offers you an unusual and breathtaking view of the world. You soar effortlessly over high mountains and deep valleys. You really see the shape of the land. If the landscape is hidden from view, you can enjoy the extraordinary sight of unbroken cloud plains that stretch out for miles before you, while the sun shines brilliantly in a clear sky. The journey is so smooth that there is nothing to prevent you from reading or sleeping. However you decide to spend your time, one thing is certain: you will arrive at your destination fresh and uncrumpled. You will not have to spend the next few days recovering from a long and arduous journey. 出遠(yuǎn)門的人常常需要決定是走旱路、水路，還是坐飛機(jī)。很少有人能夠真正喜歡坐幾個(gè)小時(shí)以上的火車。車廂很快就變得擁擠、悶熱，想擺脫開(kāi)旅途的困擾是很難的?？磿荒芙鉀Q部分問(wèn)題。車輪與鐵軌間單調(diào)的嘎喳聲很快就會(huì)送你進(jìn)入夢(mèng)鄉(xiāng)。白天是忽睡忽醒，到了夜晚，你真想睡了，卻很難入睡。即使你走運(yùn)弄到一個(gè)臥鋪，夜間有一半時(shí)間你會(huì)盯著車頂那盞小藍(lán)燈而睡不著覺(jué)；要不然就為查票摸索你的車票。一旦抵達(dá)目的地，你總是疲憊不堪。乘汽車作長(zhǎng)途旅行則更加不舒服，因?yàn)檫B看書都幾乎不可能。在公路上還好，你至少能以相當(dāng)快的速度安全地向前行。但旅行的大部分時(shí)間都花在路上，而且只有很少的服務(wù)設(shè)施，交通也很擁擠。相比之下，坐船旅行或環(huán)游可以得到文明世界的各種享受。你可以在甲板上伸展四肢、做游戲，還能也很見(jiàn)到各種有趣的人，能享用各種美味佳肴——當(dāng)然，這一切只有在大海風(fēng)平浪靜的情況下才有可能。如果大海肆虐起來(lái)，你就可能暈船，那種難受勁兒是任何一種別的旅行的方式都不會(huì)帶來(lái)的。即使風(fēng)平浪靜，坐船旅行也要占用很長(zhǎng)時(shí)間。沒(méi)有多少人會(huì)為享受坐船旅行的樂(lè)趣而犧牲假期的時(shí)間。飛機(jī)以危險(xiǎn)而著稱，連老資格的旅行者也怕飛機(jī)。飛機(jī)另一個(gè)缺點(diǎn)是昂貴。但就速度與舒適而言，飛機(jī)是無(wú)與倫比的。騰云駕霧，在30，000 英尺高空以500英里的時(shí)速旅行，這種經(jīng)歷令人心曠神怡。你不必想辦法去擺脫旅途的困擾，因?yàn)轱w機(jī)會(huì)迅速地把你送到目的地。幾小時(shí)之內(nèi)，你躺在扶手椅上，享受著旅途的歡樂(lè)。真正會(huì)享受的人還可以在某些航班上看一場(chǎng)電影和喝香檳。即使沒(méi)有這些消遣條件，也總是有事可做。飛機(jī)上，你可以觀察世界上非同尋常的奇妙的美景。你毫不費(fèi)勁地飛越高山幽谷，你確能飽覽大地的風(fēng)貌。如果這種景色被遮住了，你可以觀賞一下展現(xiàn)在你面前的、一望數(shù)英里的、連綿不斷的云海，同時(shí)陽(yáng)光燦爛，天空清澈明朗。旅途平穩(wěn)，絲毫不妨礙你閱讀或睡眠。不管你打算如何消磨時(shí)間，有件事是可以肯定的，即當(dāng)你抵達(dá)目的地時(shí)，你感到精神煥發(fā)，毫無(wú)倦意，用不著因?yàn)槁L(zhǎng)的旅途的辛苦而花幾天時(shí)間休息來(lái)恢復(fù)精神。Lesson45 The power of pressIn democratic countries any efforts to restrict the freedom of the press are rightly condemned. However, this freedom can easily be abused. Stories about people often attract far more public attention than political events. Though we may enjoy reading about the l